Arduino IDE vs CLion
Arduino IDE
arduino.cc
CLion
jetbrains.comSide by side
| Figure | Arduino IDE | CLion |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $10.90/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · IDE Software | 9.1 (#3) | 9.4 (#2) |
| Spec score · Integrated Development Environment Ide Software | 9.1 (#2) | 9.4 (#1) |
| Company size | LinkedIn lists Arduino at 51–200 employees. | LinkedIn places JetBrains in the 1,001–5,000 employee range and lists Amsterdam as headquarters. |
| Debugger | IDE 2 provides an integrated live debugger; debugging became stable in release 2.3. | CLion integrates GDB on all platforms, LLDB on macOS and Linux, and supports debugger-agnostic DAP connections. |
| Funding | Arduino announced an additional $22 million in 2023, bringing Series B funding to $54 million. | JetBrains' corporate overview describes the company as privately funded and grown without external funding. |
| Headquarters | Arduino's privacy policy gives its registered office as Via Andrea Appiani 25, Monza, Italy. | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Purpose | Arduino provides software for creating projects with electronic devices that interact with the physical world. | CLion is a cross-platform IDE for C and C++ development. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.5 out of 5 from 144 reviews | 4.4 out of 5 from 55 reviews |
| Rating on GetApp | 4.6 out of 5 from 51 reviews | 4.7 out of 5 from 15 reviews |
| Rating on Software Advice | 4.6 out of 5 from 51 reviews | 4.7 out of 5 from 15 reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 2.9 out of 5 from 19 reviews | 2.6 out of 5 from 102 reviews |
| Support | Arduino links to documentation, a Help Center, and a support request channel. | The non-commercial plan provides public forums and a bug tracker; the commercial plan also offers private tickets. |
| System requirements | IDE 2 requires 64-bit Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer, or a 64-bit Linux system. | The 2026.2 requirements list a four-core x86_64 or arm64 CPU, 8 GB total RAM, 10 GB disk space and 1280×720 display. |
| What it does | Arduino IDE is a desktop environment for writing, compiling, debugging and uploading sketches to Arduino-compatible boards. | CLion is a cross-platform JetBrains IDE for C and C++ development with code analysis, navigation, building, debugging and testing in one environment. |
Plans
CLion
- CLion Non-CommercialFree
- CLion Commercial$10.90 a month
- CLion Commercial — Individual$10.90 a month
- All Products Pack$29.90 a month
In their own words
Arduino IDE
Arduino IDE is a free desktop environment for building projects with electronic devices that interact with the physical world. The software page lists version 2.3.10, with downloads for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its editor provides autocompletion, code navigation, and a live debugger; documentation also covers debugging, the Serial Monitor, and the Serial Plotter. Arduino CLI offers a text-based environment to build, compile, and upload sketches, and manage libraries and boards. Documentation describes synchronizing sketches between IDE 2 and Arduino Cloud through a Remote Sketchbook. Arduino IDE 2.0 is open source, with source code hosted on GitHub. Listed targets include Arduino AVR, megaAVR, SAMD, SAM, Mbed OS Nano, and Mbed OS Portenta. Nightly builds preview incoming releases with updated features and bug fixes. Arduino describes its ecosystem as serving students, makers, and professional developers. The software page states that downloads are provided as is and disclaims express and implied warranties.
CLion
CLion is a cross-platform IDE for C and C++ development, available for Linux, macOS and Windows. Its editor provides context-aware completion, code analysis, navigation and automated refactoring. Projects can use CMake, Makefile, Bazel, Meson or compilation databases. Debugging includes GDB and LLDB, variable inspection, memory and disassembly views, and core dump debugging. Remote workflows include a thin IDE client, full remote mode, Docker containers, WSL toolchains and remote debugging. For embedded development, CLion supports GCC ARM, IAR and custom toolchains, on-chip debugging, PlatformIO, STM32CubeMX, Zephyr and FreeRTOS. Testing support covers Google Test, Boost.Test, Doctest and Catch with a built-in runner. The IDE also integrates version control systems and supports CMake, Python, JavaScript, XML, HTML and Markdown, with other languages available through plugins. The non-commercial plan costs nothing and is for non-commercial use. Commercial development requires a subscription; CLion Commercial — Individual costs $10.90 a month and includes a free 30-day trial.